Mr Filberts Nuts

Challenge

Mr Filbert’s is a top range of quality snacks. Launched in 2012, it started with a positive response and was quickly listed in delicatessens and specialist foods stores. However, breaking into the big supermarket chains was proving difficult. It was too niche a product and not appealing to a broader range of shoppers.

The problem lay in its brand and product positioning.

Solution

We carried out research among quality snack-buying consumers (typical Waitrose shoppers) to establish the key factors that were restricting sales and those that would accelerate sales.

The result was a repositioning of the brand away from ‘inventive snacks’ – consumers don’t want to experiment – to ‘really interesting snacks’ – feeding back what consumers were seeking.

Changing the descriptions of the ingredients, to make them more evocative, was also key. We needed to change the brand image, including a revamp of all the packaging to make it look more modern and sophisticated.

We kept the Mr Filbert’s character, as this added personality and a personal touch to the brand, but made him more a chef and collector of ingredients rather than an inventor.

Results

Since the relaunch the company have gained listings in chains that had previously dismissed the brand, and have extended their listing in Waitrose to more stores. They are now also going into Sainsbury’s. Overseas orders have increased dramatically.